Is Luka Doncic playing tonight? Lakers vs. Thunder 2026 NBA Playoffs Game 1 injury report

The Los Angeles Lakers surprised everyone in the first round when they took down the Houston Rockets in six games. Even without Kevin Durant for nearly the whole series, everyone picked Houston to come out on top as the Lakers had to play most of the series without two of their best players in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Austin Reaves has since returned, helping the Lakers to win Game 6 in Houston, sending the Rockets packing, and giving the Lakers an extra few days off before taking on the defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the crew sweeping through the Phoenix Suns despite the injury to Jalen Williams, the Lakers will need to be at full strength to take them down. With Doncic seen on the court of late at Lakers practices, it begs the question: Is Luka Doncic playing tonight vs. Thunder?

Here’s everything we know about Luka Doncic’s injury status for tonight’s game vs. the Thunder in Game 1.

Anthony Edwards’ injury status vs. the Spurs in Game 1

Luka Doncic had been listed as OUT for the entire first round of the NBA playoffs, with the guard not close to returning to the court just yet.

For Tuesday night’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder, nothing has changed. Luka Doncic is listed as OUT for Game 1.

Doncic suffered a hamstring injury on April 2nd against the Oklahoma City Thunder and did not return to the game. Further examinations revealed a Grade 2 hamstring strain for the Lakers’ star, meaning he’d be looking at a multi-week absence.

Doncic traveled to Spain on April 6th to undergo an injection procedure for his Grade 2 hamstring area to see if he could speed up the healing process and return to the court quicker than his reported six-to-eight week timetable.

Luka Doncic has made appearances at Lakers practice over the last few days, doing some light spot shooting with no contact or much movement. While he is recovering, Doncic is still about one-to-two weeks away from taking the next steps in his recovery and inching closer to ramping up his return to play process.

Luka Doncic is in the gym this morning, going through spot-up shooting post-practice: pic.twitter.com/TZIvUN87VQ

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) May 4, 2026

ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel had similar reporting earlier in the week, stating that Doncic is still at least a week and a half away from his next steps.

“Ahead of Game 5 against the Rockets on Wednesday night, Doncic is still at least a week and a half away from progressing to the next step in his recovery process and being reintegrated back into practices and scrimmages, league sources told ClutchPoints on Tuesday evening,” ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel reported last week ahead of the Lakers-Thunder series.

With Doncic out, LeBron James took on a significant role for the Lakers, averaging 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Austin Reaves return for the final two games helped significantly, but the Lakers will ultimately need Doncic if they’re to have any hopes of dethroning the Thunder.

In 64 games this season, Luka Doncic led the NBA in scorer by averaging 33.5 points to go along with 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 47.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three.

When it comes to the question of if Luka Doncic is playing tonight vs. the Thunder, the answer is still no.

Lakers injury report

The Lakers have one player listed on the injury report for Tuesday’s game.

• • Luka Doncic (Left hamstring strain): Out

Thunder injury report

The Thunder have just two players listed on the injury report for Tuesday’s game.

• • Thomas Sorber (Right ACL surgical recovery): Out
  • Jalen Williams (Left hamstring strain): Out

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been without Jalen Williams since Game 2 of their first round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, when he suffered a left hamstring strain. Like Doncic, Williams is considered week-to-week and is not expected to return anytime soon. Additionally, Williams has been dealing with numerous hamstring strains this season, which could give the Thunder even more reasons to be cautious with him in his return to play process.

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